Surprisingly, it’s not, but NIN, AC/DC and Eminem all are. Who would have thought? What on earth am I referring to?

The Associated Press reported last week that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay were being tortured by being forced to listen to the same music at insanely loud levels for 16 hours straight a day. This forced many of them to go mad and literally lose their minds.

This has come to light now because musicians are banding together to demand that torture using their music be stopped. Can you blame them? I’m not one to get political, but what the F**K is our government/military thinking? What musician would be okay knowing that their music is being used to TORTURE people? Not only that, but our military is literally ruining perfectly good music…way to take the brilliance of an artist like Trent Reznor and tarnish it by driving people mad.

Now I understand these prisoners are not innocent bystanders…obviously…they were detained for a reason. But why use something that is the heart and soul of so many people for something so terrible? No wonder these artists are banding together. This is probably the worst news that any artist could get. Can you imagine? “Hey Trent, I was in Guantanamo Bay and we used your music to drive people insane and cause them to smash their head against the wall until they knocked themselves out so they wouldn’t have to listen to them anymore.” That’s gotta hit you where it hurts.

I don’t think it’s arguable that the artists are absolutely in line for demanding that this be stopped. But what I’m wondering is why did they have to use music that would otherwise be good? I would think they’d have better luck forcing someone to listen to Pussycat Dolls or Lil Jon for hours on end…that would drive me crazy for sure…

…kidding. I think this is extremely sad news for the music community and I hope this sort of torture (and all others for that matter) are shut down now that the public is getting wind of it. I’m behind our troops 100%, but whoever is responsible for this kind of behavior needs to be forced to listen to the new Hillary Duff album until they drive their head into a pretty little pink wall.

So it’s Tuesday again, and there were some big releases today. Among them are Fall Out Boy, Jamie Fox and All-American Rejects. But most importantly, I wanted to share with you all that Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s have their version of their newest album Animal available on lala.com here. You can preview it free, and just buy whatever songs are different than the studio’s version Not Animal which was originally released. I haven’t listened yet, but I’m interested to hear the which songs are different. I know it was impossible to find before, so I’m excited lala finally has it (no, I don’t get paid to endorse them, I just really like what they have goin’ on)

Also, thought I’d let you guys know that lala is selling Fall Out Boy’s digital album for $3.99 for the next 3 days only. You can check it out here. Kinda cheesy teen emo-pop…yes. But it’s pretty catchy and fun if you need something to get you through the end of a long week, and you can’t beat a 3.99 album.

So here we go again…2008 is not over yet, but the “Best of” lists have already started popping up everywhere, including in the latest issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. Again, I’m still confused as to why I even bother reading this magazine, but my subscription hasn’t run out yet, so until then, I will continue to read, and continue to rant, because this magazine is proving to have the music taste of a 14 year old girl.

First of all, how can you make a “Best of 2008” list when the year isn’t over? I’m guessing they got the advance copy, but Fall Out Boy’s new album hasn’t even come out yet…seems like a pretty big omission. Not that I expect Fall Out Boy to top my list this year, but I don’t think it’s arguable to say that their album will probably be better than the Jonas Brothers, who come in at #40…I mean, seriously? I don’t listen to their music, but did anyone watch their halftime show during the Thanksgiving football game? It was the most awkward, uncomfortable and talentless performance I’ve ever seen…that alone was enough for me to not need to listen to the album…ever.

But back to the list…I am happy to see Santogold at #6, but to see Guns n’ Roses at #12– ahead of Kings of Leon who is only #20–confuses the hell out of me. Anyone who doesn’t put “Only by the Night” in their top 10 this year does not have music taste that I think is worthy of any sort of publication, and if you are my friend, and don’t agree, I may have to re-evaluate our friendship.

I’m not gonna lie, I haven’t even heard all those albums, nor have I heard nearly close to all the albums that were released, but I’ve heard some darn good ones, that I guarantee are better than Lil Wayne. I’ll say it again, seriously?! Number 3? The chorus of his hit song is “She she licked me like a lollipop (yeah)”, repeated 4 times. That’s deserving of #3?? That song is everything that’s wrong with hip hop. I understand they want to cover all the genres, but they didn’t think T.I.’s “Paper Trails” might be more deserving of a spot?

As always, they still gave their number one spot to weird experimental music, in this case–TV on the Radio. It’s not a bad choice for number one…”Dear Science” is a good album…I’m not sure it’s deserving of #1 though…but it’s a much more respectable option than their #1 spot for top singles, which went to Beyonce for “Single Ladies”…

Don’t get me wrong, I love Beyonce and admire her for her talent, ambition and class, but this is the song of the year? If any of her songs should have made the list, it should have been the more thoughtful song “If I Were a Boy”. The rest of their top 10 is actually respectable…except of course, #5 which is none other than “Lollipop”…

Another year has almost gone by, and another bad list has been made by Rolling Stone. Their bad judgment of hip hop music and token experimental music overtaking good rock and roll has yet again produced two “Best of 2008” lists that breaks any true rockers heart.

My best of 2008 list is in the works and will be out soon…but not before the last New Music Tuesday of the year. And you better bet that there won’t be any Lil Wayne or Beyonce, but there will be plenty of Indie gems that might have slipped under your radar.

It was only a matter of time before a good rock band came along and remade Ginuwine’s “My Pony”. Well, after a surprisingly good act at 710 Beach Club in San Diego, I came home with a CD from Daniel Wesley Band with just that. It wasn’t the song exactly, but they covered the good parts, and filled in the rest with some musical sexiness.

So imagine my surprise when I turn on the radio and hear another cover of that song…but not by the little Indie Canadian band that I love, by another old highly influential band–Far. I’m not going to argue with their influence on the music world, but I was a little sad that they had to come back with this song, and steal any glory I think DWB could have had from its popularity. Far deserves the attention, but at this point, I think they could have covered Brittany Spears and people would love it because they are just so happy to have them back in the music scene.

Far’s version is good, I suppose….although I’m quite biased due to my original obsession with Daniel Wesley Band. Here are both of them for you, what do you think?

The holidays are here, and in full effect. What does that mean for your ears? Well, if you’re shopping, it means you have to listen to classic songs like “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Santa Claus is coming to town” remixed, and sung by 20 different teenyboppers who not only sound the same, but make you want to stick knives in your ears. But if you stay away from the malls, I’ve got some tunes to get you through this season, and keep you jammin’ through the winter.

Fundamental Elements – The Cycle We’re Living In

Fundamental Elements

Funky little Indie band that’ll go down smooth…Fundamental Elements is an Indie band from St. Louis, often played on iChannel.fm that just keep getting better. “The Cycle We’re Living In“ is an easy listen that has tastes of Maroon 5 & G.Love, but much smoother and more organic. The tunes are catchy, the voice is smooth, and the dash of funk will get your head bobbin’. They also slow it down for the ladies…which is nice, but also kinda sappy. Fast forward through those songs though, and I promise, your ears will love you. The first two tracks are my favorites. Check out their myspace, or listen below:

Eric Hutchinson “Sounds Like This”

Let your soul flash back to the 60s…Singer/Songwriter seems to have this scary stigma to it lately, and rightly so, as much of it sounds the same

Eric Hutchinson

and most of it is so sappy it makes me want to puke. But if you wanna hear someone bringin’ the blues & funk back to the genre, check out Eric Hutchinson’s “Sounds Like This”. I’ve been trying to compose my top 10 list for the year, and I’m not gonna lie, after about 5, I can’t think of anything that stands out…until I heard this. I can see him up on stage, singin’ his heart out, while the chorus backs him up, the crowd claps, and the whole house is jammin’. “You don’t have to Believe Me” will grab your ass and make it shake, while “Rock & Roll”, has radio hit written all over it. Check out his myspace, or check out the album below: